Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office Has Gone to the Dogs
DA Dogs Launched with Santa Maria Valley Humane Society

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, one of the oldest animal welfare organizations serving the Central Coast, announced today the creation of the “DA Dogs” program in collaboration with District Attorney Joyce Dudley and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. The program delivers adoptable and well-mannered shelter dogs to the Santa Barbara Superior Court, 312 E Cook St., Santa Maria, CA 93454, for attorneys and staffers from the DA’s office to run or walk with over their lunch hour. The program is a first of its kind in California and encourages people and pets to exercise together while promoting the adoption of homeless animals from shelter. The homeless dogs are returned to the animal shelter after their run or walk where they are available for adoption.

“The District Attorney’s office is filled with dog-friendly staffers, and DA Joyce Dudley expressed an interest in becoming more involved with promoting the adoption of homeless pets, increasing companionship and safety for citizens,” said Sean Hawkins, Executive Director for Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. “We’re having high-energy shelter dogs join DA attorneys, investigators and staffers for recreational walking and jogging outings over their lunch hour at the courthouse,” according to Hawkins. “What makes this program unique is that a certified dog trainer accompanies the dogs each time so that basic manners and leash walking skills are being taught along the way.”

Joyce Dudley, DA for Santa Barbara County, said, “all DA Dogs canine participants wear ‘Adopt Me’ vests bringing excellent exposure to the adoptable dogs in the community and promoting the adoption of homeless animals. Additionally, my staff have a shelter dog as their workout partner. This kind of exercise enriches both the body and soul and can help to reduce their stress at what can, at times, be a very intense work environment.”

Key to recently adopted dogs acclimating to their new homes is having a wide exposure to unfamiliar people and new environments including fun, social experiences outside the shelter. Additionally, with extremely limited staff time to thoroughly exercise every dog, high energy dogs do not always have appropriate outlets at the animal shelter.

Innovative programs developed under Hawkins leadership at Santa Maria Valley Humane Society include the DA Dogs program as well as other partnerships with the District Attorney and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department that are in the works to help both animals and the people who love them. “Our Communities that Care Initiative at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society works outside our shelter walls to elevate the status of dogs and cats in the neighborhoods we serve and advocate for improved animal welfare and well-being,” Hawkins adds.

All of the animals who participate in the DA Dogs program are available for adoption at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, 1687 West Stowell Road, Santa Maria, California 93458. Adoptable pets can be viewed online at http://smvhs.org/adopt-pet.

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society Joins Purina Shelter Champions Program
Every Adopted Pet Goes Home with Free Purina® Pet Food

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society – one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in California’s Central Coast – has accepted an invitation to join the prestigious Purina® Shelter Champions® program, an offer that has been extended to only 100 top animal welfare organizations in the United States. The Purina Shelter Champions program was created in 2017 by Purina to achieve a mission shared by Purina and animal shelters across the United States to find more homes for more adoptable pets. Through the program, Purina works with participating shelters to provide assistance in feeding the pets in their care and marketing their organizations to promote local pet adoption.

In addition to a shelter feeding program, which allows participating shelters continual access to a broad line of nutritious Purina pet foods, Shelter Champions members are provided with professional marketing materials to excite communities about adopting pets from shelters. The program also provides educational materials for new adopters with tips and information related to the health and training of their new pets to help make the transition home smooth.

“We want every pet adopted from a shelter to be happy and healthy and to adjust seamlessly to their new home,” says Sean Hawkins, Executive Director of Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. “With extremely limited financial resources, partnering with Purina allows our organization not only to feed a consistent and healthy diet to our shelter pets, it also increases the quality of the post-adoption experience with professional education and training materials that are made available to every family adopting a pet.”

Pets adopted from Shelter Champions participating organizations go home with a free supply of Purina dog or cat food to keep animal diets consistent and to avoid an abrupt change of food in a new home, which can lead to digestive issues.

“Pets are our passion at Purina, and we are excited to support the great work that Santa Maria Valley Humane Society does to help local pets find families through providing quality nutrition for the pets in their care and marketing support for their organization,” said Cat Small, Shelter Champions Program Coordinator for Purina and owner of 1-year-old rescue dog, Carrot. “When we can work together with innovators in animal welfare like Santa Maria Valley Humane Society to support our collective missions, we can help more pets find forever homes and live longer healthier lives together with people who love them.”

Every animal adopted from Santa Maria Valley Humane Society has been examined by the shelter veterinarian, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped. Families adopting pets from Santa Maria Valley Humane Society also receive discounted pet health insurance and a free post-adoption health exam provided by community partner private practice. Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, located at 1697 W. Stowell Rd., Santa Maria, CA and is open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Wednesday through Sunday. Pets available for adoption are visible at http://smvhs.org/adopt-pet .

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society Increases Hours and
Expands Services to Save More Animal Lives

The Santa Maria Valley Humane Society announced today that beginning August 1, 2017 it’s Animal Adoption Center will be open to the public from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Wednesday through Sunday for pet adoptions, its Spay & Neuter Clinic will be operating from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and its Animal Wellness Clinic will be open from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Wednesday and Saturday with new services added to keep pets healthy and in their homes. The Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Animal Care Complex, which houses the Animal Adoption Center, the Spay & Neuter Clinic and the Animal Wellness Clinic, is located at 1687 West Stowell Road, Santa Maria, CA 93458 and its telephone number is (805) 349-3435.

“Expanding our animal adoption hours to include time after work during the week and being open on Saturday and Sunday is a strategic move to accommodate more families who want to adopt pets but might not be able to visit the shelter because of job and school schedules,” says Sean Hawkins, Executive Director for the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. “We have set a goal to adopt 1,000 homeless animals into new homes this year and to do that we have to be open for adoptions when people are off work or when they have free time on weekends.”

Also starting August 1st, the Spay & Neuter Clinic will be performing affordable spaying or neutering surgery for animals belonging to the general public by appointment only on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Patients will be dropped off for surgery between 7:30 am and 8:30 am and picked up between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm the same day as surgery. Wellness and vaccination services will be available on a walk-in basis on Wednesday and Saturday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm through our Animal Wellness Clinic. “We have greatly expanded health care services offered through our wellness clinic for pets to now include an optional limited examination by the veterinarian, healthy pet lab work, as well as treatments and preventions for fleas and intestinal parasites,” Hawkins continues. “We want to work with families who already have pets to keep those pets healthy and in their homes. We know that when a pet becomes unexpectedly ill and a family cannot afford treatment for services at a private practice veterinarian, those pets often end up as a stray on the streets or relinquished to an animal shelter. Our Communities that Care initiative works with families to provide needed services to keep pets safe and in their homes.”

Further enhancing our Communities that Care initiative includes hiring an Animal Behavior Specialist who will be joining the staff in August and moving the owned animal intake process to a managed admission model. “Santa Maria Valley Humane Society is a community resource for families when they can no longer care for their pets,” said Hawkins. “We are creating a managed admission process at the shelter so we can assess and accept the most adoptable animals possible and help those pets find new homes quickly.” Animal intakes for owned pets will be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm by appointment only. “Team members from our Animal Behavior and Veterinary Medical departments will be available during those hours to assess animals at intake and make sure that we have the resources available to help those pets find homes. If we are able to provide needed medical treatment and implement any needed behavior modification plan, we will accept animals in need of re-homing. Our responsibility to the community is to place safe and healthy pets as anyone’s potential animal neighbor,” according to Hawkins. Stray animals in our community are received by Santa Barbara Animal Services and not by the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. To schedule an owned animal intake appointment at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, the public should call the shelter at (805) 349-3435.

For the most up-to-date information about Santa Maria Valley Humane Society, visit our web site at www.smvhs.org. For featured pets and daily information, become a fan of our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SantaMariaValleyHumane. All of the animals available for adoption at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society can be viewed online at http://smvhs.org/adopt-pet.

 

 

 

 

 

Free Spay / Neuter Program for Pets in Qualified Families
“The Bix Fix” at Santa Maria Valley Humane Society

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society announced “The Big Fix” today, a new program that provides free spaying or neutering and rabies vaccinations for pets in income-qualified families. Free services are provided to pets in families receiving one of the following needs-based public assistance programs; Medi-Cal/Medicaid, WIC (Women, Infants and Children), CalWORKs (TANF), BIA General Assistance, CalFresh (Food Stamps), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability (SSD), Section 8 Housing, and Major VA Disability. Appointments for spay / neuter surgery are required and can be made by calling (805) 349-3435, Extension 2. Surgery is performed Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at the Gary & Lyn Hock Spay & Neuter Clinic, 1687 West Stowell Road, Santa Maria, CA 93458.

“The Big Fix” is made possible by two generous Santa Barbara County donors who recognize the importance of altering dogs and cats in families who could not otherwise afford veterinary services. “Spaying or neutering pets not only prevents homeless puppies and kittens from being born but the surgery also eliminates certain cancers and infections,” says Sean Hawkins, Executive Director for Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. “Many pet owners want to do the right thing by spaying or neutering their pets but cannot afford often expensive services at a private practice veterinarian. Spaying or neutering these pets reduces pet overpopulation, ultimately saving more animal lives.”

Proof of participation in one of the above listed needs-based public assistance programs is required. Pet owners whose pets are already vaccinated should bring proof or rabies vaccination with them to the clinic. Pets without proof of vaccination will be inoculated against rabies free of charge as part of the program. Only animals who are being spayed or neutered can be vaccinated through this special program. Additional vaccinations, deworming, and identification with a microchip are available for a nominal cost.